Winter's Dawn (27 page)

He peeked his head out the door, seeing Susie was still in session with the Goddess. He took the sun chime off the door and put it back inside the room where it belong and then left before Susie could accidentally look in when she opened her own door. He took the opportunity to go back to the supply closet while he waited for her. Most of the things in there were unsuitable to deal with the wound in his hand, but he sorted through offering shells, incense, altar cloths and other religious items until he found a towel that was probably used to polish the metal in the altar rooms. Seeing that it was clean, he tied it tightly around his hand, stifling a curse.

“Maxwell!”

He opened the door and peeked out when he heard her panic. “What’s wrong?”

She looked up from the floor to stare at him with wide eyes. “There’s blood on the floor.”

“Shit,” he said and then winced at himself for cursing when they were still so close to the altar rooms. “I’ll clean it.”

“What was your offering?” she snapped, running towards the open door of the supply closet.

“That’s personal,” he reminded her.

“This is not animal blood,” she growled, pointing back to the floor. “It smells like yours!”

He closed his eyes and turned away from her. “I had much to atone for.”

Susie growled and reached for the hand he had behind his back. “Gods be!” she screeched when she saw the towel wrapped around it. “He would never require this of you!”

“I think he did,” Max argued, jerking his hand back. “Do I tell you how to worship?”

Susie shook her head and turned around, covering her face with her hands. “You’ll be ill. I don’t want that. No one wants that.”

Max couldn’t answer her. Instead he stared in horror at her hair. It had been down to her waist before she went into the room. Now it hung to her shoulders, having been jaggedly cut with something blunt and not meant for cutting hair. “Who’s dying?” he gasped as fear washed over him.

“Gods, I’m sorry.” Susie turned back around and tugged at her hair self-consciously. “I should have warned you. No one’s dying.”

“What other reason is there to offer up your hair?” Max’s voice was raw in shock. “Most of your hair. It’ll take years to grow back.”

Susie lowered her gaze. “I too had much to atone for.”

Max’s shoulders slumped and he leaned against the doorway as his head started to throb. “Shit,” he whispered, closing his eyes in pain. “You cut your hair because I’m an asshole.”

“We’re still on sacred ground,” Susie reminded him. “Be respectful.”

Max nodded, his eyes still closed. “I’m sorry.”

“Come on, Max.” Susie put an arm around his waist. “We’ll get you clean and then we’ll call the doctors.”

He shook his head. “I just want to rest. I asked for a reprieve from the nightmares. I think it’ll be granted until I can gather my strength.”

“Okay.” Susie used her hold on his waist to pull him forward. “A bath, some food and then rest.”

“Yes, good,” Max leaned into her and reached around to touch her hair with his good hand. “Gods, it’s so short.”

“Hair grows,” Susie said softly.

“I need to straighten the ends,” Max said, still studying her hair. “It’s really uneven. We’ll have to cut it shorter to fix it.”

Susie sighed. “You can fix it when you feel better.”

He stopped walking with her and leaned down to place a kiss on the top of her head. “’M, sorry, Susie Bee.”

“Me too.” She tilted her head to look up at him with watery eyes. “I love you.”

“Love you too.” He squinted to keep her in focus. “I should have offered a better apology before. I’m so sleepy now and I feel sick.”

“Gods,” she whispered as she grabbed his hand, studying the towel that was now soaked with blood. “How deep is the wound?”

“I won’t die,” he promised her. “And it’s not enough to pull you down with me. I would never do that to you on purpose.”

“I am going to call the doctors. We’re going to have to tell them you poisoned yourself.”

“I don’t care,” he said in defeat. “Tell everyone. I’m a bad mate. I won’t hide my shame.”

Susie rolled her eyes. “You aren’t a bad mate,” she said and then laughed. “Slightly dense for poisoning yourself, but not bad.”

Max laughed with her as he leaned back to look at her hair again. “I’ll be healed long before your hair grows back. Gods, your hair,” He groaned in misery. “Why so much? I think it was an excessive offering.”

“This coming from a wolf who just poisoned himself,” Susie snorted as she forced him to walk again. “We both made our offerings and we will deal with the repercussions of them together, okay?”

He nodded. “Okay.”

Chapter Fifteen

Max never did have nightmares, though he doubted if was from actual intervention from the Sun God. The combination of no sleep and silver poisoning knocked him out cold. He was unsure how long he slept before he opened his eyes to a blinding headache and a throbbing hand.

He groaned, blinking against the bright afternoon sunlight in his room. His head hurt worse as he became fully alert. He was just about to pass out again to hide from the pain when someone clearing their throat caught his attention.

“Feel better?”

Max lifted his gaze, seeing his father standing next to his bed. “No, not really.”

“You have a fever,” his father sighed. “You are quite ill.”

“I expected it.” Max frowned up at his father. “Where’s Susie?”

“She went to talk with the doctors about something to help lower your fever.” His father’s eyes narrowed. “We woke up after recovering from the running to find doctors at your door and Susan’s hair gone. I don’t need to tell you what we thought.”

Max cringed. “I apologize. That had to be a shock.”

“Emma nearly fainted.” His father picked up a chair from the corner and placed it at the edge of the bed. “Do you want to tell me what’s going on?”

“Susie’s hair was needless,” Max admitted as he closed his eyes in embarrassment. “But, I had things to atone for. My blood was the only acceptable offering.”

“And you think the Sun God required you to poison yourself?” his father asked as he arched an eyebrow expectantly. “You cannot care for your people if you’re ill.”

“I realize that,” Max sighed. “But, in this instance I believe it was necessary. Will you take care of things until I feel better?”

His father nodded. “I had planned on it with your permission.”

Max studied his father silently, seeing his worried features, his dark eyes swirling in concern. He remembered another time when he woke up to find his father next to his bed, looking worn and tried from spending a week at his bedside while Max and Susie had lingered near death. All Max had felt then was hatred towards him, now he felt something quite the opposite and he said, “I have been a poor son to you.”

His father winced. “Maxwell—”

“No, I have,” Max admitted. “I let power go to my head. I realize that now and I won’t use my getting the call too early as an excuse. I should have had more respect.”

“We have different views on many things.” His father glanced away from him for a moment to stare at the wall. “It has been hard for me to accept your leadership. I made the transition difficult for you.”

“Why did you make me?” Max asked because the question had plagued him for years. “Why bring a king into the world when you could have ruled as Head of Werewolves for as long as the Gods were kind and let you live?”

“Our people needed an alpha pair.” His father turned back to look at him. “They could no longer have puppies and they wanted them so badly. Eventually we would have died out and I think our people are a decent people. We deserved more than extinction.”

“They still can’t have puppies,” Max reminded him.

“They will,” his father said solemnly. “Susan is not full-grown. When you start having puppies they will too.”

Max considered him silently before he sighed. “That was a noble sacrifice.”

“It was,” his father agreed, giving him a sad smile. “Far more noble than I had planned.”

Max placed his good hand against his bare chest and stared up at his father. “I never told you I was sorry about Aunt Susan.”

“Oh, you were young, Maxwell.” His father shook his head and looked away with glassy eyes. “Emma and I never expected you to understand.”

“But, I did. I still do.” Max blinked to keep from crying. “I am sorry you lost your sister and I am eternally thankful to her for giving me Susie. I should have never disrespected her gift to me and our people by fighting with her.”

His father laughed. “Gods, Maxwell, mates fight. Emma and I fight constantly. We always did. I think that’s why we ended up together. Susan and I were much more compatible.”

“Why would you choose the sister you were less compatible with?” Max asked, frowning up at his father. “You loved Aunt Susan too.”

His father shrugged, laughing again. “Made it more fun, I suppose. Emma and I are obviously better at making up than you and the queen. Gods, her hair is so short. I wanted to faint even after I knew you weren’t dying. Emma just scratches and bites when we fight. Your mate forces you to remember it for years.”

“I don’t think that’s why she did it.”

“Probably not,” his father agreed. “But, it is still an excessive atonement for a fight. You two are far too serious for your own good.”

Max laughed. “Look who’s talking.”

“Don’t blame this bad habit on me.” His father let out a low growl that was more playful than angry. “I am serious about a lot of things, but I would never poison myself over a fight with Emma. I would be dead a thousand times over.”

“It was a dreadful fight.”

“We’ve had those too.” His father arched an eyebrow at him. “There are better ways to make up.”

“She’s too young to bite and scratch me.”

“Not for long, Maxwell. She’ll be full-grown before you know it.”

“Don’t remind me.” He glanced away, staring at the opposite wall, studying the silver and blue wallpaper. “I don’t think I am as noble as you. Making puppies is not something I look forward too, even if it gives the gift of offspring back to our people.”

“Between you and me,” his father whispered. “I dread the new king as much as you.”

“Really?” Max asked, turning back to him in surprise. “But, you wanted me to go to the running. You wanted me to grow up.”

“I knew you had to go to the running because nature can’t be denied.” His father shook his head. “But, I didn’t want it.”

“Why?” Max asked, still stunned.

“I love Susan too.” He sounded insulted. “Do you think I want to lose her in childbirth? And if she dies—”

“I die,” Max whispered in understanding.

His father nodded, his eyes glassy again. “You are more than a king to me, Maxwell. You should know that.”

Max smiled. His father didn’t say he loved him, but it was enough. He understood what he meant.

“Thank you.” He blinked again to get rid of the sting in his eyes. “The fever is making my eyes burn.”

“I’ll go get Susan.” His father stood and rubbed at his eyes suspiciously. “I think she got lost looking for the doctors.”

“She didn’t get lost.” Max put a hand to his eyes. “You should find her lingering in the hallway.”

His father laughed. “Always tactful, just like her mother.”

“She thinks she’s sneaky,” Max told him, lowering his hand to grin at his father. “As if I can’t smell her from a mile away.”

“You’re both sneaky.” His father growled playfully once more. “That is a trait you two have in common.”

“Same soul and all that,” Max explained. “The good and the bad.”

“It’s a good soul,” his father said as he turned away. “And you both do it justice.”

****

It took Max longer than he had planned to recover from the poisoning. The doctors came to the conclusion that he had chosen a poor time to provide such a dangerous offering. After the running, when he had gone for days before it without sleep had left him weak and fighting the illness was harder because of it.